| For details on why I'm rebuilding, see this post: http://www.twinturbo.net/net/viewmsg.aspx?forum=general&msg_id=1270845 Shortly after the carnage, I picked up a shortblock from a tt.net member in Southern Orange County for $40. Best $40 I ever spent. It turns out that my heads were useable, but 2 exhaust valves were bent from contacting pistons, and all of the intake valves showed stress fractures in a radial pattern (interesting, but I didn't take pics). I took the shortblock I picked up and my heads to Precision Speed & Machine in Bakersfield, CA. They have been featured in Car Craft and are well known in the Central Valley for quality machine work. For the Car Craft article, see this link: http://www.carcraft.com/howto/116_0401_318/index.html I decided to go with Manley 1mm oversized SS valves, as well as Precision's "Stage I" head port (pocket port). What I found most interesting about the head porting procedure was the fact that the technician was able to port my lower plenum and heads as a single unit. This procedure was accomplished with the heads bolted to the block and the plenum & gasket bolted up to the heads. This will ensure a continuous smooth passage all the way into the combustion chamber. On to the pics: 
Please note that the sparkplug bosses were later removed, see later pics.
Here is the porting procedure with the plenum bolted to the heads:
 
Dave, the resident cylinder head guru, in action:
 
PSM even went so far as to index the gasket between the lower plenum and heads as to ensure a smooth transition once I bolt everything down:
 Passages are marked to provide contrast when porting (makes it easier to see exactly what material needs to be removed):
 The exhaust ports were given the same treatment, and the gaskets and exhaust manifolds are indexed to ensure a smooth transition:
 A final look at the port work before the seats and valves got installed:
 
Frontal view before bottom end was balanced and installed:
 On to the bottom end: Micropolished journals:
 Block decked, bored to 87.5mm, and honed:
 Checking ring gap:
 
Assembly of girdle & bearings to check tolerances:
 
100% of freeze plugs were removed and fresh ones installed:
 Checking for play in crankshaft:
 Notice the tolerances marked on key areas. These guys checked everything, making sure we didn't have tolerance "drift."
 Wiseco slugs being inserted into the block:
 Yes, they're all pointed forward... =)
 Bottom end fully balanced and buttoned down with ARP fasteners:
 ARP head studs installed:
 Money shot of the heads, fully installed before mounting on the block:
 Port work on exhaust manifolds:
 
The manifolds have been sent to Enhanced Performance in Bakersfield, CA for "lamp-black" ceramic thermal barrier coating inside & out. This will help keep the heat out of the engine bay and smooth airflow a bit since the ID of the manifolds is being coated. If anyone in the Central CA area needs machine work done, I highly recommend this shop. Work areas are kept cleaner than my house, the staff on hand is friendly and put up with hours of me poking around and refining specifications. I ended up getting a quality build from a reputable shop with everything done to my specifications. I am in no way affiliated with PSM, but I am totally satisfied with the work that was completed, the timeframe that it was completed in, and the final cost to me. 
While I certainly don't intend to take away anything from shops such as SGP and Z1 that have "crate" short and longblocks, I was please to have the process done locally (saved freight, able to see build in process, keeping tax dollars local, etc.) All comments welcomed. Sport 530s next to come...
"It must suck for you to be the most retarded than everyone else here." -AzHeat 09:30:20 09/10/04 "So I nailed it, took off like an F18 from carrier. Of course the chase begained." -Tim_N/A 10:27:15 04/07/03 "Ps, I ate a real chocolate jesus today. it was kick ass. it was about 3" tall and solid chocolate. I was in heaven." - niXit 10:53:48 10/02/02 |
stage one of the rebuild complete... LONG BLOCK - 
